A Perfect Betrayal
by Alexx Evers
Summary: When an enchanted necklace makes is so Hermione and Draco can't leave each others sides, Hermione will be faced with the biggest decision of her life. She's forced to choose between her love for her best friend or her love for her worst enemy.
1. Chapter 1

Hermione Granger didn't know what was better; the fact that she could finally relax after 6 years of fear and stress, or the fact that she was spending this time with her two best friends; Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. They had been friends for 6 years, though they spent the majority of it saving the Wizarding World from a certain Dark Wizard.

The Final War had been terrible, worse than they could have imagined. It all happened at the end of their 6th year at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. Her dreams were often plagued with images from The War, so many people had died. She couldn't even allow herself to think of the names. Every so often she saw a haunted look overcome Harry or Ron and she knew exactly where their thoughts were. She knew that she wore the same look at times.

She pushed these thoughts from her head, today was a special day, and it wouldn't do any good to think of such unpleasant things today.

She sighed, today was Harry's 17th birthday, and she had been in love with Harry since their 3rd year when they were saving Buckbeak and Sirius. She had always had feelings for him; but that certain day was the day she realized she loved him.

"No," she said firmly to herself, she had promised herself that she wouldn't think of that and she knew he would never feel the same way about her.

He was Harry Freaking Potter. The Boy Who Lived! The Chosen One! The one who defeated Voldemort! She was just his friend, she was just book smart, and she was nowhere near pretty. She sighed again. Harry had never shown any interest in her in any other way than friendship.

After she finished washing up, she blew her hair dry with her wand; she put on a red sweater that Harry had gotten her for last Christmas and a pair of plain jeans. After 10 minutes of struggling with her forever unruly hair she groaned in frustration, and in admitting the ultimate defeat, she pulled out the book of beauty spells Lavender and Parvati had gotten her for Christmas.

When she had opened it, she had sworn to never use it, but this was a desperate time, it called for desperate measures.

She roughly and anxiously flipped to the Hair section and flipped through the pages swiftly desperately searching. Brown eyes searched for the perfect spell for her freakishly bushy hair. When she finally found what she searched for, she read the instructions at least ten times before she stood in front of the mirror with closed eyes and inhaling deeply. Opening her eyes again, she stared at herself before she finally pointed her wand at her hair. She closed her eyes in concentration and repeated the incantation while thinking very hard of what she wanted it to do.

She slowly opened her eyes; her hair now fell in ringlets past her shoulders. She made a mental note to look at other spells in the book.

"Perfect," she smiled then ran to her bed and pulled Harry's gift out from underneath it.

Today would be perfect, and she was determined to make it so.

She slowly walked up the stairs to the boys' room. She had always loved staying with the Weasley's, she had always felt accepted by the entire family, well, except for that time in 4th year – she shoved that thought away.

She could smell Mrs. Weasley cooking; she couldn't quite place it though. She heard a shout of laughter from Fred and George, and a shriek from Mrs. Weasley. There was a creak on the stairs and then Ginny joined Fred and George's laughter.

She had been so relieved when they found a way to save Fred; he had almost been crushed by the stones of the castle wall when one of them collapsed on him. George hadn't been himself until Fred was out of St. Mungos.

She didn't even bother to knock on the door to Ron's room, she just walked right in.

To her surprise, they were both already awake. At the sound of the door creaking open they had whipped their heads towards it.

Upon seeing who it was, their jaws dropped. She felt her cheeks heat up at their expressions.

"Happy Birthday, Harry!"

* * *

Harry and Ron had been up for not even 10 minutes when they heard the door start to open. Both automatically turned towards the door, and in the doorway stood a brunette with the biggest smile Harry could remember seeing on her in a while. She was wearing a red sweater and jeans that fit her perfectly, and her hair fell in ringlets around her face making her even more beautiful than usual. His mouth went dry, if only he could get the courage to ask her out.

To be honest, he had liked her since the very beginning, it had been a big reason he wanted to save her from the troll. They had their moments throughout the years, but he knew he loved her one day in their 3rd year. She did the most amazing thing, something that would keep him loving her for a long time. She punched Draco Malfoy. She was the most wonderful person he had ever met.

He stopped is thoughts then, they were just friends, nothing more. She had never hinted she wanted more than that.

"Happy Birthday, Harry!" That snapped him out of his thoughts.

Then again, it was his 17th birthday; he could use magic outside of school now.

"Wow. Is that you, Hermione?" Ron asked, just as shocked as Harry,

"Oh, shut up. Of course it's me, who else could it possibly be?" Harry loved her sarcasm, he saw a gift in her hand, and he had an idea.

"Accio," He said, trying not to be obvious as he pointed his wand at her while making it appear as if he was pointing at the gift. A few seconds later she landed on Harry's lap. Shock and laughter clear in her eyes.

"Oops, guess I overshot it a bit," he said, looking down at her, suddenly he knew what he wanted and it wasn't the present in her hands. His eyes strayed to her lips, and he saw the realization of what he was going to do hit in her eyes, so very slowly and softly, he pressed his lips to hers. It didn't last long, but it was very sweet.

"Oh bloody hell," interrupted Ron, "can you not do that now?"

Harry and Hermione just looked at each other and started laughing; it was full of relief and happiness.

Today is going to be perfect, thought Harry while watching Ron and Hermione get into a playful argument about the kiss.

Soon after Harry and Ron got ready for the day, they all headed downstairs, where Harry was met with a chorus of 'Happy Birthday's from Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, Fred, and George.

"Thanks guys!" Harry said, he couldn't help smile,

"How was your day so far, Harry?" said Fred or was it George?

"First of all, its only 9 in the morning, second, absolutely wonderful," he smiled at Hermione.

"You know," said Ron, "Harry is pretty good with girls," this got everyone's attention while Harry and Hermione looked at each other, terrified.

"What are you talking about Ronald?" said Mrs. Weasley, her face full of curiosity.

"Uh, never mind," mumbled Ron, not wanting to tell the story in front of her.

"Oh Ronikins, please tell us what you were going to say," pleaded George.

"Oh yes, continue with the tale of Harry and his suave-ness," continued Fred, which lit a flame behind Ron's blue eyes; he was being embarrassed while trying to embarrass Harry.

"Well, Hermione came in our room and he was staring at her then he pretended to Accio a present she had for him but instead he was aiming at her and she fell in his lap and he kissed her." he said it all in one breath.

Everyone stared at Harry and Hermione, and then Mrs. Weasley broke the tension and pulled Harry into a hug.

"Congratulations," she whispered in his ear.

Today was going to be his best birthday ever, Harry could tell.

* * *

Draco Malfoy had to figure out a way to fulfill his father's last command to him, he hadn't thought of a single way to do it yet.

"_Draco, there is one last thing I want you to do for me, get back at Harry Potter." _

That was the last thing his father had said to him, his father, was in Azkaban, along with his mother, apparently word had gotten out that they had housed Voldemort for a year before The War.

Thankfully his father had been smart enough to send Draco off to their house in France.

"The Malfoy line must continue Draco!" his father had said to him, "That cannot be done if you are locked in Azkaban."

Oh yes the Malfoy Line, who could forget?

Frustrated he picked up _The Daily Prophet_, and started flipping through it at random, and then suddenly a picture caught his eye. It was a picture of Hermione Granger, she was standing on one side of Harry Potter, and Ron Weasley was on the other side.

It was taken not long after The War, Granger's arm was in a sling and she had multiple cuts on her face, Potter had burns and cuts on his face, and Weasley had a cast on his leg. None of them were smiling, and for a second, the Potter in the picture grabbed the girl's hand, only to drop it immediately.

He could tell Potter felt something more than friendship towards Granger and that was perfect.

He knew how to get back at Potter; he wasn't in Slytherin for nothing.

He went up to his parent's old room; he knew that what he needed was in there.

It was the last thing he wanted to do, but he knew it would break Potter, he knew it would destroy Potter, and that was what he had to do.

He had gone out of his way to stay out of his parents' room, but he was desperate.

Whenever Lucius and Narcissa talked about the necklaces they mentioned a black box with the Malfoy Crest on it in silver.

He decided to start with the closet, after a minute of trying to see if there was anything on the top shelf or behind the clothes he got frustrated. He grabbed all the clothes and threw them on the bed.

This is stupid, he thought, the damn box could be anywhere. Due to many Ministry of Magic searches of the Manor, there weren't many dark artifacts in the house. He completely cleared out the closet, and it still wasn't in there.

Suddenly he got an idea, he snapped his fingers twice and Ivy, one of his house elves, appeared before him,

"What can Ivy do for Master Malfoy today?" she said in her wheezy voice,

"I want you to find a black box with the Malfoy Crest in silver, now." His voice was a snarl by the last word.

"Yes, Master Malfoy." She disappeared again, and for a brief second Draco was confused, where had she gone?

She reappeared not long after, holding the box.

"Here, Master Malfoy," she handed him the box and left. He stood there, where had they been?

He opened the box and the necklaces were there, in perfect condition, lying on a green cloth.

He knew very little about how they worked, what he did know was what his parents had told him,

"_She just couldn't stay away from me from the moment she put on that necklace," Lucius would say with a smirk, _

"_It only ever came off after I fell in love with him," Narcissa would laugh, _

He knew this was his chance, his chance to get back at Potter, and this was the perfect plan.

**A/N: So I know this looks like a Harry and Hermione, but trust me, it wont by the end. Also this is my first fanfic, so please review! Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

Hermione was sitting at the table drinking pumpkin juice when she saw the very thing she had been waiting for. Four owls were flying towards The Burrow, one for her, Harry, Ron, and of course, one for Ginny. She shot up from her chair and bolted towards the window where the owls would be.

"Harry! Ron! Ginny! They're here!" She shrieked, not being able contain her excitement. There had been doubt on whether or not the school would re-open, but after 2 months of construction wizards re-building the castle, it was back to its original state.

All three of her friends came running down the stairs, Ginny in front with Ron and Harry behind her. They all arrived in front of Hermione right before the owls reached the window. Ginny caught sight of them and let out a deafening squeal.

Harry paled and he turned on his heel and walked up the stairs with a straight back. The two redheads didn't notice, so Hermione grabbed her and Harry's letters and ran after him.

She found Harry face down on his bed with his shoulders shaking slightly as if he was crying, but more like he was trying to suppress some strong emotions. To see him this weak pained Hermione, it was like a sad Ron. It was unnatural, and very hard to witness.

She sat gently on his bed, when she touched his back she could feel him calm slightly. He sat up and looked at her, his green eyes locking on her brown eyes.

"Harry," she started softly, "what's wrong?"

She knew it was silly to ask, she had the same feeling in the pit of her stomach, the immense pain at having to go back to the place where they had witnessed so many people die.

"Every time I think of going back, I see things I've been trying to push away. I see Justin get hit with that curse, I see Fenrir leaping on those innocent people," his voice seemed to be shaking, making him slightly choke on his words and Hermione could tell that he was holding back tears.

"Harry, you don't have to do this to yourself," she couldn't think of anything else to say, she couldn't stand seeing him like this.

"It's my fault, Hermione, all those people d-died because of me." When Harry said this she felt a surge of anger, they had gone over this many times.

"Harry, you and I both know that this was not your fault. They did not die because of you, they made their choices; they could have left, or fought for what was good. They fought for what was right, they stood for what they believed in, and they just so happened to believe in you." Harry slowly looked up at her, and she recognized the look in his eyes, it was they same look he had given her on his birthday, right before he had kissed her. His eyes were full of passion, and it made her mouth go dry.

He started to lean towards her and she knew what was happening.

"Harry," he looked at her, his green eyes full of confusion.

She took a deep breath, "What is going on? You kissed me last week and we never said a word about it after. So I will ask this once, what is going on between us?" She saw the realization in his eyes; it was a mixture of relief and understanding.

"Hermione, when I'm with you it seems like nothing can go wrong, you are the most amazing thing in my eyes, it's hard to think about a world without you." He was now holding her hand, and didn't look up when he said this, as if afraid of her reaction. She felt a smile growing on her face, she put one hand on the side of his face and he finally looked at her.

"I feel the same way." She said, not taking her eyes away from him.

She had been hoping for a long time that he would feel this way for her. She felt a great sense of happiness overcome her, and she knew what was coming next.

Just as sudden as the pain that had crossed his face, not even 5 minutes ago, there came a smile, a breathtaking, glorious smile. Hermione felt her breath catch in her throat.

She felt his lips cover hers, and she knew it would not be the last. Hermione's heart was pounding in her chest; this is something she had wanted since 3rd year. He was finally hers, and she was his.

She broke away from him, a brief second of sadness washed over his eyes but it was quickly replaced with happiness.

"I have our letters; do you want to open them up here?" Hermione said softly, not wanting to hurt his feelings, but her curiosity was burning.

"Yeah, I guess. Let me see mine." He sighed, she handed him his letter at the same moment she heard steps pounding up the stairs.

Ron burst into the room with a very red faced Ginny behind him,

"I told him . . . to leave . . . you guys alone." Ginny huffed out; they had obviously fought their way up the stairs, Ginny's hair was ruffled and Ron had a bruise already forming under his left eye.

Ron looked relieved, but Hermione had no idea why, she pushed it aside. She was a little upset about the youngest Weasley children bursting in, but at least it hadn't been the twins.

"Come on, open your letters. We all know you got Head Girl, Hermione, but I want to know who Head Boy is." Ron said, not hiding his curiosity, though if it was for the letter or what was going on between Harry and her, she couldn't tell.

She opened her letter and out fell a badge, a Head Girl badge. She pulled out the actual letter her brown eyes sweeping across the parchment, searching for a crucial bit of information. She finally found it; her excitement was even greater than before. Her eyes followed the words hungrily.

The letter read:

_We congratulate you on becoming Head Girl; you will meet with the Headmistress after dinner on September 1__st__. You will be sharing the Head Tower with Mr. Draco Malfoy, who is this year's Head Boy, we expect you to. . . _

She stopped reading then, a sinking feeling in her stomach; Harry was holding on to her hand, his lips moving but she wasn't hearing anything. She didn't know what emotion to feel, she was happy that she had reached her goal of being Head Girl, she was angry that she had to be sharing the responsibility with Malfoy.

"Hermione, what is it?" Harry's voice broke into her thoughts.

"Draco Malfoy," was all she could say, she couldn't think.

"What do you mean by that?" Harry said; worry evident in his voice.

"Draco Malfoy," she took a deep breath and closed her eyes, "is Head Boy this year, Malfoy and I will be sharing the Head Tower."

There was a gasp from everyone else in the room, she opened her eyes and everyone seemed to be in different phases of anger. Ginny looked as if she wanted to hex someone, Ron was already twirling his wand in his hands while sparks flew from his hand. Finally she looked at Harry; he was stuck between shock and rage, he looked like he could kill someone.

"Draco Malfoy, you will be sharing a dormitory with Draco Malfoy?" His voice was ice cold, empty of the passion from only a few minutes ago. She could only nod.

* * *

Harry was shocked, how did Malfoy become Head Boy? Who would put Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger in the same dormitory? Malfoy had been a Death Eater and Harry knew it. With his parents how could he not be a Death Eater?

One of them would more than likely get hurt, and Harry was hoping it would be Malfoy.

Speaking of Hermione, Harry was happy he finally told her his feelings, she finally knew, and now they were together. He sighed from the happiness, he knew he finally had her, and since he loved her, he had a feeling she loved him to, no wait, he thought to himself. _We just got together; let's wait on the love thing._ He had the feeling that they would be together for a long while though.

He felt a smile cross his face; Hermione had left for her room only 10 minutes ago. She was still in shock about Malfoy being Head Boy. Ron and Ginny had gone downstairs to get food right after they had heard the news, wanting to leave Harry to think.

Not long after Hermione left, Ron was back, and Harry could tell from the look on his face that he had an uncharacteristic amount of words on his mind. Harry knew he was either going to yell or be upset over something, Harry hoped it was the first, yelling Ron was better than an upset Ron any day.

Ron sat down across from Harry and sighed, like what he was about to say was very hard for him to say. Harry stayed silent; he knew that it was best.

"Harry," Ron started, pain twisting his face, "How could you do this to me?"

"Do what?" Harry had no idea what Ron was talking about, maybe it had something to do with . . . no, he couldn't.

"I've liked her since 4th year, and you know that, why else would I have thrown a fit about Krum?" Ron looked like he was about to cry, _does her really like her that much?_ Harry thought.

"You never said anything to me about it, so how was I supposed to know?" Harry shot back a little ruder than he should have. He wished that he could take those words back, but it was to late.

"I thought I made it quite obvious. Even Ginny knew! That's what we were talking about downstairs." He was now looking at Harry like as if his feelings had been obvious from the start and everyone should have known it.

"What about 5th year with Lavender? That really didn't look like you had your eyes on Hermione." That was low and Harry knew it, Ron hated it when someone mentions Lavender. Ron's face immediately went a bright red and he stood up roughly.

"That was a moment of weakness! And you know I tried my hardest to break away from her! She was like the Giant Squid!" Now it was Harry's turn to feel bad, Ron had desperately wanted to break things off with Lavender.

"Listen, Ron, I didn't mean to hurt you, I've liked her since 1st year. I just – I guess – I guess I just never saw it. I'm really sorry, but there's no going back, Hermione and I are together now." With that, Harry got up and wandered the house leaving Ron fuming.

How could Ron do this? Ron knew that Harry hadn't been Happy since the war, and here he was ruining the happiness he had found. Sure he felt bad about some of the things he had said, but that didn't matter now.

The smell of bacon reached him from downstairs; he hadn't eaten yet this morning. His stomach did a flip, though if it was from the smell of for or the knowledge that Hermione was his, and so she would be for a long while, he didn't know.

An hour or so later, Ron came looking for Harry in the orchard, he found him right as he was getting out his broom.

"I've been thinking," Ron started, sounding unsure of himself, "and I know you would never hurt her intentionally, you probably are the best person for her." he said this all staring at the ground, and when he finished he looked up. Harry felt a surge of respect for his friend; he knew this must have taken a lot for him to say.

"Thanks, Ron. You're right; I would never hurt her because I love her." there was a short silence, Ron broke it with the one question that would take both of their minds off it,

"You want to play some Quidditch?"

* * *

Draco Malfoy sat there, sitting in the chair that once belonged to his father, smiling at the piece of parchment in his hands.

_We congratulate you on becoming Head Boy; you will meet with the Headmistress after dinner on September 1__st__. You will be sharing the Head Tower with Miss Hermione Granger, who is this year's Head Girl, we expect you to cooperate with her, try for House Unity. It has been a long while since we had a Gryffindor and Slytherin for our Head Boy and Girl. Your badge and a timetable of this year's events are enclosed with your list of supplies. _

He felt a sense of pride, he had worked for this and earned it on his own. Without his father's help.

They were making this all too easy for him. He would be sharing a dormitory and Common Room with her, they would be together often. He would be going back to Hogwarts in three weeks, from there he had all year to get back at Potter, and he was greatly looking forward to it.

He snapped his fingers, signaling Ivy to come to him.

"Yes, Master Malfoy," she said in the wheezy voice he had been hearing since childhood. She was standing before him looking at the floor, never daring to look him in the eyes.

"Pack the box I had you retrieve for me in my trunk, along with the usual Hogwarts items." He commanded her; he might as well have that done, he hated waiting to do things. He would buy his other things in Diagon Ally next week; his parents would have expected this of him.

His parents.

He sighed; he had tried not to think about them too often, sure they hadn't been the most affectionate parents, or the greatest role models, but they did raise him, and love him.

_His eyes burned, he was holding back tears. He was a Malfoy, and Malfoy's didn't cry – at least not in the presence of people. _

"_The charges brought against you include – in the case of both Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy – of allowing Lord Voldemort," there was a collective shudder among the reporters, " to take residence in their home, and watching as many heinous crimes take place, including several counts of murder." _

_The judge continued, "Among the crimes brought against Mr. Lucius Malfoy, a torturous murderer, and invading Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with many other accused Death Eaters. For all of this, we sentence you, Lucius Malfoy, and you, Narcissa Malfoy, to a lifetime in Azkaban, with the hopes that you learn from your mistakes. Any last words?" At this point__,__ Draco looked up at his parents, he saw the surrender in their eyes, it was a pitiful sight, that is if Malfoy's pitied. _

_Narcissa cleared her throat; she was planning on saying something._

"_If it's not too much to ask," she said in a hoarse voice, as if she hadn't talked in a long time, "We would like a private word with our son." Her eyes met Draco's and his heart gave a wrench. Her pain was written clearly on his face, he never remembered her showing this much emotion towards him._

"_Yes, yes," said the judge, shock __written on his face__, "Draco you may step forward." _

_Draco's legs felt like lead, this was surely the last time he would be able to speak to them. He walked past a dementor; a chill ran through him, he hated the effect dementor's had on him. It made him feel weak as he revisited everything he had gone through because of the two people who stood before him. Finally he reached his parents; it suddenly took more willpower to not cry. He had no idea what they would say,__and he feared what was unknown to him__. __A small part of him, a very, very small part of him, hoped it would be something positive, but he know that wouldn't happen. _

_Narcissa looked up at him, tears in her eyes, she stroked the length of his face and said, __and said __in barely a whisper, "What a handsome young man you have become, any girl would be lucky to have you. If a girl makes you happy, if she makes you feel like nothing could go wrong, go for her. Marry her. Love her with all your heart. I love you so much Draco, I know it didn't always feel like I do, but I truly do love you, Draco." Tears were __now __running down her face freely. Out of the corner of his eye, Draco saw Lucius turn to him, it was time to hear what his dear father had to say. _

_Lucius cleared his throat, and in a clear but quiet voice he said, "Draco, __there is one last thing I want you to do for me, get back at Harry Potter." With that, his father looked away, and said no more. He shouldn't have expected anything more from his father, but he couldn't help getting his hopes up. _

"_Yes, father, I'll be sure of it." With that Draco turned on his heels, walked out the doors, and never saw his parents again. _

While sitting in this chair, it was hard not to think of them, he jumped up. He didn't want to think of them, they had made his life hell, and he could never forgive them for that.

The Malfoy name was soiled because of them.

**A/N: so yes, Chapter 2! I didn't get to do this on the first chapter but I want to thank Abby for helping me out with this and editing it, it means a lot to me. So yes, please review, it keeps me going!**


	3. Chapter 3

The train ride to Hogwarts had always been an exciting time, friends catching up, and seeing frightened faces of first years. It was just an experience that Hermione had loved since her first year. This year was an exception. Harry, Hermione, and Ron were sitting in a compartment with Neville, Luna and Ginny just like always. The only difference though, was that the compartment was completely silent, except for the muffled shouts from outside the closed door.

The excitement was missing in their silent compartment. Hermione was happy to continue her education at one of the best magical schools in the world, but her experience from the year before drained some of her excitement.

Harry's head was on Hermione's shoulder with their hands intertwined. They felt better when they had some contact between them. It made them feel calmer, safer they would dare to say.

They had been almost inseparable since the day the letters had arrived. They were a comfort to each other, though one could say they didn't get much time alone, Ron always seemed to turn up at the worst times.

Hermione checked her watch, it was time for her and Ron to head to the prefects compartment.

"Ron, we have to go." She said standing up; Harry instantly tightened his grasp on her hand, his way of showing he didn't want her to leave. She leaned down and kissed him lightly, and pulled her hand from his.

"I'll be back soon, just an hour." She whispered into his ear, she then turned to Ron; who was still sitting.

He looked as he had no intention of getting up. It had always been his least favorite thing, going to the prefects compartment. He hated being told what he already knew he had to do.

"Ron! Come on, we have to go." With one last wave to everyone they turned and walked out.

When they finally got to the prefects compartment they saw all the old and new prefects, yet Malfoy was nowhere to be seen, and they couldn't start without him – a small fact that annoyed her.

"Who is Head Boy this year?" a sixth year Hufflepuff named Natalie asked, her blue eyes filled with curiosity as she stared at the Head Girl.

"Draco Malfoy." She said after a short hesitation. She saw a look of shock cross a few of the faces of the prefects, and then from nowhere a soft voice said,

"Pay up." It came from a fifth year Slytherin girl, she was holding her hand out to a fifth year Slytherin boy seated beside her.

At Hermione's curious look the girl smiled at her, her long black hair was pulled back in a ponytail and her hazel eyes had a mischievous sparkle in them. Hermione knew that there was a bet between these two. It was quite obvious, and last year she would have spoken to them about the dangers of gambling. Now she couldn't care less.

"He thought that Head Boy would be Harry Potter," the girl started, "I thought it would be someone else, though I never guessed a Slytherin. I mean, who would put you and a Slytherin together?" she let out a giggle, "Anyway, we made a bet and he lost." The girl stopped to think for a second, then said, "I'm Astoria, by the way, Astoria Greengrass."

Hermione didn't know what to say, Astoria was definitely the most talkative Slytherin she had ever met, and she hadn't insulted her yet, which had to be a record. The fact that Astoria had come back after the war said a lot. She would probably be one of the few her age that returned. Very few fifth year and up Slytherins had returned.

Right then none other than Draco Malfoy walked in, his blonde hair was still slicked back and his gray eyes were still empty of all emotion. He slowly looked around the compartment, his eyes finally meeting Hermione's. When their eyes met, Hermione saw a sudden flash of emotion; she couldn't be sure what it was. She was only sure that it was gone as soon as it had appeared.

"Let's get this over with Granger, I, unlike some, have things to do." He drawled, letting her know that it was all her responsibility. Hermione felt a surge of anger, why would the professors put them together? It was ridiculous, he was already slacking. She wanted nothing more than to hex him into oblivion.

She scowled at him; they were supposed to be sharing the responsibilities.

"Well, welcome back to our sixth and seventh year prefects, hope you had a good summer and may you all have a good year. Now, the only difference this year, is that you have assigned areas of the school to patrol, you will be given those assignments by your Heads of Houses the day classes start. Now you know what to do on the train, you may go." She watched as eight sixth years and six seventh years left the compartment. turned to the rest of the fifth year prefects who are new to being prefects.

"You will be told what to do inside the school by your Heads of Houses; they will tell you when your meeting with them is after the feast tonight. For now, patrol the corridors for a while and make sure that no bad behavior is going on. That's about it. Any questions?" The fifth years all looked excited, they had been given a big responsibility after all.

A small blonde Ravenclaw girl rose her hand part way, and Hermione smiled at her, showing her that it was okay to talk.

"I'm Ellie, Ellie Cathers. I was just wondering where you two," she indicating Hermione and Draco, whom Hermione realized was sitting there not looking up from his hands a bored frown on his lips. "Would be while we are patrolling. You know, in case we have questions or issues." The girls blue eyes twinkling much like Dumbledore's did, almost as if this girl knew something.

Hermione started to speak, but she was interrupted by Draco, who was now standing up.

"Like I said, we have things to do. We will be here for the next half hour, no longer." He drawled, causing Hermione to scowl at him again.

"That's right, you may go now." She dismissed all the fifth years, some casting frightened looks at Draco, d sat down across from Draco in the large compartment. He was twirling his wand in his hands, small green sparks emitting from it every so often.

"Can you stop that?" Hermione said after a few minutes, the sparks had been getting closer and closer to her, and she couldn't take it anymore. She didn't intend to get burned by sparks on her first day back to school.

"Stop what, Mudblood?" Draco said, as he finally stopped twirling his wand and the sparks stopped. Hermione flinched a little at the often used slur. Draco saw that moment of weakness and continued.

"Why would I listen to anything you said anyway," his voice not betraying the slightest hint of emotion. he slowly sat up a little straighter, "Not only are you a Mudblood, but you are best friends with Potter," he stood up, rising to his full height. His pale face showing the slightest hint of disgust.

_He's tall, _Hermione thought, a shiver of fear running down her spine.

"Or are Scarhead and you together now? It's about time isn't it?" Hermione watched as he took a step forward, closer to Hermione. "You are also part of the reason my parents are locked away in Azkaban. So tell me Mudblood, why should I even bother to listen to you?" he took a half step towards her, his wand pointed at her, she felt a surge of anger, she stood up and pulled out her own wand, pointing it at his chest, a flicker of shock crossed his face, but he quickly arranged his face back to his emotionless mask.

"Now you listen to me ferret, I don't want to be here with you anymore than you want to be here with me. Don't give me an excuse to hex you, because I will. I'm not the same person I was last year, I won't run and hide at the threat of a teacher. We should at least be civil to one another." She took a step forward, letting her deep hatred for the boy sink into her voice,

She saw a flash of fear in his eyes, she almost couldn't tell if it was fear or not. It was gone as quick as it had appeared.

"Civil? To a Mudblood?" He laughed rudely, showing his distaste for the idea. That was it for Hermione, when he uttered the filthy word again. Her patience snapped.

_Levicorpus, _Hermione thought forcefully. There was a blinding flash of light and a shriek, when the light was gone Hermione caught sight of her spellwork, Malfoy was suspended in the air by his ankle.

She took one step closer to him; his face was a bright red with fury. She directed her wand at his face,

"Don't. Call. Me. A. Mudblood." She said through her teeth,

"Let me down! You stupid, filthy little Mud-"

"Langlock!" she shrieked, anger coursing through her,

"I am not afraid to hex you, I don't care what the consequences. If I were you I wouldn't call me a Mudblood anymore." She said. She turned to the door, and when she reached it she turned back to Malfoy.

"Before I forget, liberacorpus," Malfoy fell to the ground again, but his tongue was still glued to the roof of his mouth. "Oh, finite incantatem." With that she turned on her heel and stalked back to her compartment. Not caring about the obscenities the little ferret was yelling at her back.

"Everything will be just fine, Harry." Harry heard Luna say only a few minutes after Hermione left. He looked up and saw Luna lowering her copy of _The Quibbler_, she hadn't said much since they entered the compartment, but that wasn't unusual for her.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked curiously; Luna rarely said things that had no meaning behind it.

"You're worried about her. Don't worry, Draco Malfoy won't do anything." She said simply.

"We can't be sure of that." Ron said, "that ferret will never give up a chance to do something bad to her; it's just the way he is."

Ron was already back from the patrols, he still hated doing it. The whole saving the world thing had given him the insane thought that there wasn't a point in having to do them.

"If he so much as touches her, he will get my bat-bogey hex." Ginny added, agreeing with Ron.

Harry just sat there while his friends discussed different hexes they would love to use on Draco Malfoy and after a few minutes even Neville had joined in the conversation.

He couldn't believe that he was going back to Hogwarts, after everything that has happened during the previous year, he didn't know how he could deal with it. Some of his friends had died in the war; many of his friends were hurt because their friends' death had affected them.

He knew that Parvati didn't return to school because of the deaths of both Lavender and her sister had been too much for her to handle. Harry felt a rush of guilt, he had seen so many of them die. His stomach tightened when he remembered everything, he hated remembering.

What was it that Hermione had said? He knew without having to even ask, he knew her little rant by heart by now, with the amount of times she had repeated it.

She would say that it wasn't his fault; that they were standing up for what they believed in and they believed in him. So they were standing up for him. He had been the star in their dark sky. Something everyone had been able to look up to. He hated it, he was only 17, it was too much for him to handle often times.

He checked his watch; it had only been ten minutes since Hermione had left. He was already starting to feel the return of the dread that always settled in his stomach, from thinking about the unpleasant past and her being gone. He couldn't wait for her to get back; she kept him from remembering the war and the people he had lost. With her he could forget about all that and live in the moment.

"When will Hermione be back?" Ginny's voice broke into his thoughts; he shook his head to clear it and looked at his watch again.

"Not for another half ho-" Harry said then the door suddenly flew open and a very angry Hermione appeared behind it.

The compartment went silent; everyone thinking the same thing that only one person – besides Ron – could make her this mad, and his name was Draco Malfoy.

She stood in the doorway fuming for a few more seconds, and then just as suddenly as she had appeared in the doorway she started crying. Everyone snapped back to attention, Ginny, Ron and Harry all jumped up and rushed to Hermione and Neville jumped up and closed the door. Harry pulled her into the seat and positioned her on his lap. Ginny sat on one side of him and Ron sat on the other. Neville stood up in front of them all while Luna stayed sitting, Luna just looked at everyone, having lowered her magazine to see what was going on.

"What did he do?" Ron asked angrily.

"Can we go hex him?" Ginny said cheerfully.

"Are you ok?" Harry asked, the dread in his stomach was mostly gone since she was back in his arms but not all the way gone because she was upset. He could kill the ferret if he had hurt her,

"She's fine, just shocked." Luna said, her dreamy voice floating from the other side of the compartment. She was the only one who hadn't moved when Hermione came in. Harry looked up at the girl, her pale blonde hair framing her face, a smile playing at her lips. He knew she was right, Luna always was.

After a few seconds Hermione seemed to pull herself together. She sat up a little straighter and Harry felt the rest of the dread melt away, Luna seemed to be right.

"So, what happened?" Harry asked, wondering what could possibly make this happen. Hermione's face flushed red, and she smiled at them all.

"Let's just say you don't have to hex Malfoy, I already did." She said simply. There was a collective gasp from the group, and then Ginny let out a small cheer. Harry felt shocked, he knew things had changed and he was glad she had finally did something they have all wanted to since first year.

As they were talking and laughing, the feeling of stress left the group. Harry could tell there would be no more silence within this group of people.

As he heard about what Hermione had done to Malfoy he felt a rush of love for her. He always knew she had that in her ever since she hit Malfoy in their 3rd year. It was just bound to happen that she would attack him with her wand too.

After numerous chocolate frogs and multiple games of exploding snap and changing into their school robes, the train finally slowed to a stop.

They took their time going to the carriages, as they came into sight he heard a small gasp from the people surrounding him. He looked at Luna and understood, Ginny, Ron and Hermione had all seen the Thestrals. They had a mix of shock and fear on their faces, Hermione had a bit of fascination on hers.

"Hard to believe we rode those things." Ron muttered under his breath as they got into an empty carriage. As they got closer to the castle the dread settled in Harry's stomach again, he reached for Hermione's hand and as their fingers became intertwined once again, Harry felt the dread start to go away.

"It's ok." She whispered to him, "Remember, nothing was your fault, you had no choice." She laid her head on his shoulder and the dread was completely gone.

When he was with her, with her fingers laced with his and her head on his shoulder, everything was right in his world. This is where he wanted to be.

"Don't. Call. Me. A. Mudblood." Said Granger, rage burning behind her eyes, he felt fear run up his spine, she was even angrier then that time she had hit him.

"Let me down! You stupid, filthy little Mud-"He tried furiously, realizing too late that this was the wrong thing to say.

"Langlock!" she shrieked, and suddenly his tongue was seemingly glued to the roof of his mouth.

_Where did she learn these? I've never even heard of 'Langlock' and the one that got me up here was non-verbal. _

"I am not afraid to hex you, I don't care what the consequences. If I were you I wouldn't call me a Mudblood anymore."

She was serious, Draco could tell, and no matter how much Draco hated it, that scared him.

"Before I forget, liberacorpus," he fell back to the ground with a thud and instantly felt a sharp pain in his arm, but his tongue was still glued to the roof of his mouth. "Oh, finite incantatem." As soon as his tongue came unglued she stormed out, leaving him swearing at her retreating back.

He sat back down; there was something different about Granger. Her hair wasn't as freakishly bushy as it had been, and her attitude was different too. Before this year she would never had dared do this to him.

The rest of the train ride went by in a blur; Draco barely realized when Pansy sat herself in his lap, or when Blaise was trying to ask him about any mischief he had planned for this year. The ride on the carriages was the same as every year before it.

He soon found himself in the Great Hall, waiting for the sorting to start. He had finally snapped to his senses. Of course she was different, the war had changed everyone. He looked over at the Gryffindor table, there were a few seventh years missing, and Potter didn't look as happy to be here as he usually did at the Start of Term Feast.

The first years were led in, different levels of terror on their faces; he never paid much attention to the sorting. So he made up for his lack of attention he had given Pansy. He tried to take her hand, but she pulled it from his grasp. He sighed out of irritation, the small rejection stinging a bit.

He looked over at her; she was looking towards the sorting with more interest than was right for a Slytherin. He put his hand on her knee, trying to get some response from her. She just picked his hand up and dropped it on his lap. He was getting a bit disgruntled, he wasn't used to getting rejected.

He ran a finger down her cheek, still trying to get her attention as names were being called out and students were being sorted.

"Draco, stop." She said, shooting a glare at him. He pouted a bit and her face softened.

"Later." She whispered before brushing her lips across his leaving him wanting more. She grabbed his hand and held on for the most of the feast.

He, being the kind of guy he is, paid great attention to Potter and his friends. He had always tried to know what went on with them. _Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer, _he thought. A small surge of anger went through him when he thought of what the Mudblood had done on the train.

Potter was only picking at his food, and he was leaning on Granger, who was eating just as much as he was. They appeared to be holding hands under the table, making him smirk. He had been right, they were together.

When all the food disappeared, leaving the plates glittering once again, Dumbledore stood to make his speech. The Great Hall went silent, and everyone turned to face the front table expectantly.

"Welcome to our new students and welcome back to our old students. You all know that the Forbidden Forest is, of course, off limits. There is quite a list on Mr. Filches door of banned items; one may want to take a look at that." Dumbledore adopted a serious expression then, and the silence quickly became tense and uncomfortable.

"At the beginning of last summer a tragic thing happened, most of you know it as the Second Wizarding War, Lord Voldemort," there was a shiver and a few squeals from the students, others listened closely, eating up his very words, "Was defeated by a few of your classmates." Heads whipped towards Potter, who looked down and ignored it. Dumbledore continued in his grave voice, "Please know that just because Voldemort is gone, that our world is rid of evil. Always be careful." He took a slow look around the room and smiled. "Now, off to bed, you have a busy day tomorrow."

As everyone got up to leave a voice came from the front,

"Mr. Malfoy, Miss Granger, if you could wait." It was McGonagall, she was to show then their Head Tower, Draco knew. Draco was excited, this is something he had worked for since his first year at Hogwarts.

He saw Granger nod and take a seat at the end of the Gryffindor table. He watched as she gently swung her legs, her school robe tangling with her legs. She said good-bye to Potter and Weasel, both of them with looks of worry etched on their faces. Potter's hand wasn't releasing hers, she said a few words he couldn't hear and he let go. He leaned in for a quick kiss and walked away, leaving her alone. He almost gagged, it was sweet enough to rot his teeth.

The Great hall was almost empty; he walked over to her, knowing McGonagall would expect them to at least stand together.

She ignored him with a blank expression, and he did the same. He would say what he had to in the privacy of their common room.

He reached Granger just as McGonagall did.

"Good." The professor said, "Follow me."

They followed her through the school as she went on about their duties, how she expected them to behave and so on. Draco didn't bother to listen, it was beneath him. He knew what he was to do.

They reached a painting of a beautiful woman sitting in a chair, her blonde hair fell in ringlets over her perfect shoulders and her blue eyes looked as if they held a powerful secret, her full lips smiled at them.

"Password?" she said in a sugar sweet voice, Draco stared, entranced by the painting.

"Unity." McGonagall said shortly, she gave each a stern look and said, "You both have a meeting with the headmaster after classes tomorrow," she then turned and walked away.

Granger went in first, a look of pure wonder on her face, Draco wanted to laugh at her; she was pathetic.

The common room was circular, a couch sat in front of the fireplace with two big chairs on with two big chairs on either side. There was a desk on each side of the room, one had a Gryffindor scarf over the chair and the other had a Slytherin scarf over the chair. There was a staircase beside each desk, to the rooms most likely. The room was nice, better than his old dormitory in the dungeons.

"Granger." He drawled, finally taking the chance to tell her what he needed to.

"Yes." She said, turning stiffly on her heel and facing him, the look of happiness gone from her face, irritation replacing, but then quickly changing to indifference.

"Let's set some rules, okay?" she nodded. He smirked at this, should be easy. He stood up a bit straighter, walked to his desk and sat on the edge.

"First, when one has a visitor, the other leaves. Second, don't touch my stuff." She stared blankly at him.

"What about my stuff? I should say the same thing," she said, her expression unchanging. Her voice different then it had been on the train, the authority, and in his case, anger, were gone from it. It shocked him.

"As if I would touch your stuff. Don't want Mudblood germs." Anger sparked in her eyes, but her face was otherwise calm. Why the sudden change?

"Don't call me a Mudblood." She snarled, it was a quite a scary thing. He smirked, getting her angry was easy. And quite an enjoyable pastime, he would definitely do it more often.

"I think I will." He said, trying to figure out how far he could push her.

"I'm going to bed." She said, her voice low and controlled. As if she was trying hard to suppress her anger.

"'Night Mudblood." He said, and he saw her hand itch towards her wand, but she continued her way. He got a sudden idea.

She was at her desk when he caught up with her. He grabbed one of her wrists, startling her.

"Hey!" she shouted, as he turned her to face him.

He held on to her wrist as he said, "What happened, Granger? Just earlier you hexed me for calling you a Mudblood. Now you aren't even yelling. Lose your nerve now that we're in school?"

He backed her into the edge of her desk. She inhaled sharply when her back hit it. Her eyes showing tightly controlled fear, she feared him. That gave him power.

"I realized my mistake." She said coldly, glaring at him with her brown eyes.

"And what was that?" he taunted, wondering how she came to that conclusion.

"I mistook your worth." She said, yanking her arm away and walked up the stairs.

He heard a door slam, but he didn't move. She was different than he remembered her. His plan might be more difficult than he had earlier thought.

He went to his own room and furiously threw off his shirt. He was angry at her cool tone and steady words. He was even more angry about her words. The filthy Mudblood would regret insulting him. _How can she change that much in one summer? Sure the war changed everyone, but this is a drastic change. _He thought, still surprised at her. He climbed into his bed trying to push away his anger, he knew tomorrow would be a busy day, it always was.

He found himself dreaming up new ways to anger a certain brunette in the next room.

**A/N: I am so sorry this took so long. I just got my computer back. Hope you liked this chapter. Please review! And I'll be sure to get you another update soon. **

**September 30, 2012 - I just made a few adjustments to the chapter. I'm updating soon. Chapter 4 will be here soon!**


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